


A Charming Christmas

by courtney_beth



Category: Big Bang Theory
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-23
Updated: 2009-12-23
Packaged: 2017-10-05 01:24:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/36230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/courtney_beth/pseuds/courtney_beth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pure Christmas fluff  -- where-in Leonard and Penny share their most special moments together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Charming Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [musesinspiration](https://archiveofourown.org/users/musesinspiration/gifts).



> My dear recipient, I wanted to let you know what an honor it was to be your pinch-hitter. It brings joy to my heart to know that I could step up to the plate and be the person who made your day brighter and give you a story that you would be happy receiving.
> 
> This story, for me, was a thrilling and wonderful journey. I am a big fan of "The Big Bang Theory" and used this opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and write something within a shortened time frame that is not my first preferred pairing. Would it surprise you to find out that I am actually a Sheldon/Penny shipper? :) I love a great challenge, and this for me was probably the most fun and thrilling story assignment that I have had in a very long time.
> 
> I hope you enjoy your present and that you feel the love that I know you feel for Penny and Leonard. And thank you for giving me the opportunity to challenge myself and learn once again the true meaning of the holidays – doing something for others because it makes them happy, no matter what your shipping preferences are.

The Christmas season had once again come to Pasadena, and Penny was eagerly setting the Christmas tree up in her living room. Leonard had agreed to help her with the festivities – which included dragging her tree up four flights of stairs.

While Penny searched for a box of Christmas decorations, Leonard volunteered to stay in the living room and string the lights on the tree so they wouldn’t fall behind on time. They were supposed to meet Sheldon, Raj and Howard in an hour for a movie.

“I found it!” Penny said as she dragged the box into the living room, making sure to not trip on the dirty clothes and forgotten Penny Blossoms lining the floor. Once safely at the tree, she opened the box and dug through garland strands, broken candy canes, and knotted tinsel to the Christmas ornaments.

As she put the first ornament on her tree, she saw something small and bright out of the corner of her eye. She paused for a moment and then turned her attention to the object - a small, teal bag hanging from a branch.

It is no secret that from a young age all women are taught that life’s best things come in small packages. Penny knew tonight was no exception as she saw the words _Tiffany &amp; Co._ printed on the bag.  Her eyes widened further with excitement as she looked to Leonard, who could no longer hide his smile. She knew he was horrible at keeping secrets and he must have purchased whatever was inside the bag earlier in the day.

Penny plucked the bag from the tree and held it in her hands, the paper crinkling in her palms as they squeezed tighter. She looked at Leonard with mixed emotions; she was eager to open it, but part of her wanted to wait until Christmas day 

Leonard immediately saw her confusion. "Open it," he urged her. “You were supposed to find it.”

Penny handed the bag to Leonard as she pulled out a tiny teal box, and gave it a shake. The jiggling of the contents made her giggle with glee and she took off the lid. 

"Oh, Leonard, it's beautiful!"

She pulled out a charm bracelet with five charms and looked at it up close, enthralled with the tiny details. Leonard got up from her couch and took the bracelet from her. Fumbling with the clasp in his fingers, he placed it around her wrist. He then lifted Penny's wrist up to her eye level so she could appreciate the beauty of his gift to her.

"In honor of our second Christmas together as a couple, I wanted to find you something that you could look at and remember all of the good times we've shared," he said, pointing to the charms. "The saleslady said that charms were a good way to go so that you could wear as many or as few as you wanted, and add different ones later if you desired."

Penny flipped her wrist around as she stared at the charms, the silver reflected all of the lights from the Christmas tree. Her wrist looked like a sparkling jewel; she was completely speechless from his surprise gift.

"So why did you choose these charms?" she asked moments later, taking a seat next to Leonard on the couch.

Leonard faced Penny, taking each charm in his hand and recounted the reasons why he chose each one for her.

 

\- - - - - --

** _St_ ** ** _ar_ **

Since the first day that Leonard met Penny, she had made it very clear to him that she wanted to be an actress. From bit parts in plays to portraying background characters on television programs, she would take any job that she could to pay the bills.

It was Leonard that had urged her to audition for the lead role in the local production of OKLAHOMA!, and to her surprise her midwestern appeal awarded her the part. Leonard attended every performance and he couldn't have been more proud of her as he watched her dance, sing and act on stage as the lead. She was finally a star!

 

** _Taxi Cab_ **

Their first Valentine's Day, Leonard had surprised Penny with two plane tickets for a romantic weekend away to New York City. Penny had been begging Leonard to find any way possible to send her to New York City to see the Broadway show critics were raving about and praising in the daily papers.

Penny and Leonard had never been to the Big Apple before this trip and were excited to embark upon the journey together. They made sure to take in the city and visit every touristy destination possible - from the top of the Empire State Building, to the view of the city from the Statue of Liberty.

For Penny, it was nice to get away from Southern California and start to travel to places that weren't Las Vegas or Nebraska – common destinations filled with familiarities. She was enthralled with the beauty of the lights, people and energy that New York held. During their taxi ride back to the airport, Penny made Leonard promise to take her back to New York City once a year so they could see the latest shows and experience life in the big city.

 

** _Margarita Glas_ ** ** _s_ **

Penny could hardly contain her excitement when she came home to Leonard and shared her good news - her boss promoted her to a full-time bartending position. With the promotion came a steady work schedule, a higher hourly wage, and an increase of tips.  Her extra income meant that she could start paying down the debt she had accumulated and wouldn’t have to feel guilty for having to borrow money once again from Sheldon’s stash.

It was then that Leonard noticed a change in Penny’s attitude about working at the Cheesecake Factory. She would come up the stairs with a slight bounce in her step, happy to be home and ready to share her day with him. And he finally felt he could start to do the same with her because she wasn’t listening to customer complaints all day.

 

**_Cupcak_****_e_** 

The second attempt at Leonard’s birthday went much better than the first for Penny. Long gone were the ideas of big surprise parties and slutty friends for Howard. She learned with Leonard that keeping things simple and low key worked best.  As the date approached, she casually asked Leonard what he wanted to do for his special day and he responded with a request for pizzas, video game marathons, and presents from his friends.

Leonard gave Penny the responsibility of selecting the cake. With Sheldon’s selective food habits (she didn’t want to hear another lecture on _why_ it had to be chocolate), Leonard's lactose intolerance, and the group’s inability to select one flavor as a whole, Penny decided that she would stay up the night before and bake two dozen cupcakes in different varieties for the group to enjoy.  

Leonard was surprised to see a cupcake tower waiting for him when he came home for work. He wrapped his arms around Penny and thanked her for planning such a wonderful thirtieth birthday.

 

** _I Love You_ **

It was Leonard who said it first, though he hadn’t planned on saying it just yet. Penny was heading home to Nebraska for New Years to see her family and Leonard was responsible for dropping her off at LAX.

They had been dating almost five months.

Leonard had witnessed dozens of couples saying goodbye during his travels, but never thought that he’d be in their shoes. He knew that Penny would only be gone for a week; it just seemed longer when he did the calculations of the number of hours and minutes that would be.

 As they hugged for the last time, Leonard had meant to say that he’d miss her. What came out instead were the words “I love you!”  Penny broke from the hug and smiled gently at Leonard, happy that he finally had told her what she knew from day one he had felt toward her. “I love you too, sweetie,” she said as they embraced one more time before she boarded her flight.

 

\- - - - - - - -

 

Penny wiped the tears from her eyes and her face spread into a smile. Hearing Leonard recount their adventures together warmed her heart.

“I must say that I like this one the best,” she said, pointing to the _I Love You_ locket. Her hands reached up to Leonard’s face. “I love you too, sweetie.”

Penny pulled Leonard into a kiss that reminded her of the first time he told her that he loved her.


End file.
